Big banks offer more, expect more for their $

Some of the biggest banks are offering their entry-level analysts more money to lure applicants—sometimes as much as $150,000 to $170,00, plus a performance bonus. “The banks feel that they owe them a lot more money than is typical to pay a 22-year-old because they're simply getting a lot more out of them,” says Drew D. Pascarella MBA ’01, associate dean for MBA programs, the Rempe Wilson Distinguished Lecturer, and a Senior Lecturer of Finance at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. According to Pascarella, junior bankers often work two times a regular work week, or more than 80 hours. Recently, some junior bankers have questioned whether these long hours are worth the impact on their physical and mental health.

Pascarella was featured on NPR's Morning Edition on August 12.